Boyana - Dragalevski Monastery and back

What a hike we had today! We hiked the trail from Boyana to Dragalevski monastery and back, some 6 km in one direction. The weather forecasts painted a sunny and warm day, but the morning was foggy and gloomy, with temperatures slightly above zero. The snow in the city melted yesterday, but as we approached the outskirts of Boyana, we found that the snow on the trails on Vitosha was there to stay, probably till the end of February, if not longer.

I really don't know why we have never done this hike, starting from Boyana, which is only about 20 min from home by car, but we liked it a lot and we'll definitely repeat it in the future.

The first part of the trail is a gradual climb through beech forests towards the Boyana lake

Even if it was only for this view of the lake, the hike would have been totally worth it. I had never seen the Boyana lake frozen and the scene took my breath away - the white emptiness, the total quiet, the mysterious fog - it was a surreal experience.

And then the sun broke the clouds and shone through the mist

Hike info:

Date: 23 January 2026 

Destination: Dragalevski Monastery

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 12.5 km

Elevation gain: 300 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 4 h

Average difficulty: 3.5 / 10 

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda longsleeve, Burda Cargo pants, socks

I: lingerie, Burda "Page" hoodie, socks, hat, gloves, snood

Although the mist did give way for a while at the altitude line above 1000 m, the city stayed tucked under a thick white fluff the whole day. Across the sea of fog - the ridge of the Balkan mountains, with peak Murgash.

We had our delicious tortillas and herbal tea on the meadow near the Dragalevski monastery and headed back to the car along the same track.

The usually popular trail between Boyana and Dragalevtzi was completely empty, we had the mountain for ourselves today :)

A curious encounter - fire salamander. These cute creatures usually stay hidden and protected from the cold in winter, but this well developed specimen was recklessly staying on the track. We moved it carefully to the side, I hope it will find a shelter and survive the cold months.

And an update on our pickled veggies - we polished off the previous batch with the red cabbage and today we prepared a new batch with olive oil and white cabbage. Can't wait for lunch tomorrow to taste it!